Comet PanSTARRS will also make its closest approach to Earth on April 19.
It won’t be an asteroid as big as the one that you saw in the movie Armageddon nor will it cause any catastrophe to the earth like what you saw in the movie. That said asteroid 2014 JO25 will be the biggest near-earth space vagabond to pass after asteroid Toutatis, a five-kilometre asteroid, which approached within about four lunar distances in September 2004.
According to NASA, the 650-metre near-earth asteroid discovered in 2014 will make its closest approach to the earth on April 19, almost 1.8 million km or about 4.6 times the distance from the moon.
The space rock was first discovered by the astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson Arizona who were heading the project Near Earth Object (NEO) Observation Program for NASA.
The scientists estimate that the surface of the near-earth asteroid is twice more reflective than the surface of moon, making it visible in the night sky during the day of its closest encounter with earth.
The asteroid that will make its entry from the direction of the Sun will be brightened 11 magnitudes on the day of its near-earth passage and will become visible in small optical telescopes for a day or two and later fade off.
“Small asteroids pass within this distance of Earth several times each week but this upcoming close approach is the closest by any known asteroid of this size, or larger, since asteroid Toutatis, a five-kilometre asteroid, which approached within about four lunar distances in September 2004,” NASA said in a statement on Friday.
The asteroid 2014 JO25 will be making its closest approach to Earth on Friday and will remain so for the next 500 years. This asteroid’s earlier near-earth passing was almost 400 years ago.
The next asteroid of this magnitude and closeness to pass near earth will be in 2027 when an 800-meter-wide asteroid 1999 AN10 will pass about 380,000 km or one lunar distance away from earth.
The sky gazers and astronomers are eagerly waiting for the occurrence of April 19 to study asteroid as much as possible.
NASA has also announced that comet PanSTARRS (C/2015 ER61) will also make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 175 million km on the same day.